Newsletter April 2017 – The Lords Path in the Windstorm

We’ve just finished up a very busy and amazing month again, but I’ve been noticing that nearly every time we return home that we have thunderstorms and tornado warnings. I know we live in Kansas, but this has been crazy so I decided to check it out on Google and I found this. They say that this year here in the US there have already been 465 tornados. In January alone there were 131 confirmed, over 3 times the normal average of 35. Maybe that’s why I’ve been having so many whirlwind dreams. Besides the fact that tornados are just a natural part of our lives here in Kansas. I hear God saying, “I am stirring things up!”

Jo. 3:8 – “For the spirit-wind blows as it chooses. You can hear its sound, but you don’t know where it came from or where it’s going.” This is how it is with a tornado too. It may be perfectly still and then all of a sudden it sounds like a freight-train and then boom it sweeps in and picks everything up and then drops it wherever it chooses. Maybe you are feeling what I’ve been sensing lately.

Years ago I had a dream in which I saw a thick dark cloud on the horizon and I knew that for the righteous the cloud was a glory cloud, but for those who were unrighteous it was a cloud of destruction. You see an example of this in Ex. 14:20 when the children of Israel are escaping the Egyptians. The cloud was a light and protection for the Israelites, but to the Egyptians it brought darkness. And so that’s how it is in the spiritual. In the midst of whatever change, difficulty or funk that we may find ourselves facing the Lord is always there for us. in fact in Nahum 1:3 says, “The Lord’s path is in the windstorm!”

I hear the Lord saying, “I am making a path for you even though you may be having a hard time seeing it now. Many of you have felt like you have been caught up in the whirlwinds of difficulties and uncertainty, but once there is a calm and things have settled down you will find that God was there all along. You would rather have gone around the storm or have been hunkered down in a dark cellar, but you were swept up in it instead. And though things may not end up in an order that you had planned, still you will look around and find that the Father has set your house down on the witch, (as in the Wizard of Oz) and that indeed now things have found a better rhythm and reason. And you will wake up to see that not only do you have a better rhythm, but you will find that you will have advanced faster and further down the path toward where you wanted your life to go in the first place. And you will find that things have advanced more quickly than if you had tried to do things your own way.”

And so this month you may feel the stirring of the Father as the whirlwinds touchdown and the atmosphere is changed. For He is setting us up for a great reformation ahead. And the Father will have His way in the whirlwind and no harm will come to you. For He’s merely removing the things that have gotten in your way, the things that have hindered your love for Him and others. And as the awakening winds blew on the Shulamite of Song of Songs, so He is blowing on you and spreading your fragrance far and wide. He has come to blow on your garden, your secret, inner life that you have cultivated for Him. And when the Lord breathes on us and blows on us all that is good and lying dormant begins to spring to life again. Sometimes it takes the biting north winds to blow and at other times it’s the sweet refreshing south wind that your garden needs. The Father knows exactly what your garden (your inner life) needs and the intensity needed for you to release His divine fragrance from your life. This is how we become like the one we love. And this is His way of spreading His fragrance in us far and wide. The awakening winds are now blowing!

Listen to the words of a song written by David Ruis. We used to sing it in Kansas City during days of renewal and refreshing:“May I delight you King of Kings; A pleasant fragrant offering. I seek your face and not your hand and your wish is my command. Let the winds blow, let the winds blow. Let the winds blow on my garden. Let milk and honey and sweet, sweet water flow to you from inside of me. And Lord come, my Lord come!”

Song of Songs 4:16 – “May your awakening breath blow upon my life until I am fully yours. Breathe upon me with your Spirit wind. Stir up the sweet spice of your life within me. Spare nothing as you make me your fruitful garden. Hold nothing back until I release your fragrance.” Stir up the sweet spice of your life within me. Spare nothing as you make me your fruitful garden. Hold nothing back until I release your fragrance. Come walk with me as you walked with Adam in your paradise garden. Come taste the fruits of your life in me!”

Prayer:“Whatever it takes to make me like You and to get me where you want me, Lord! Awaken Spirit-winds! Come do your work in me! Blow on my garden! Blow on my life and my ministry and bring me to the place you have for me in this next new season of awakening new life within me!”

TPT Bible School

It’s still not too late to sign up for our Intro to Revelation! For more information and updates please check out our website at www.tptbibleschool.com or click here for easy access.

In-person TPT Bible School Schedule

*You must have taken Intro to Revelation to attend this second class. Hopefully we will be able to offer it to you as an online downloadable class before October. For more information and updates please check out our website at www.tptbibleschool.com

Passion Translation

The newest book we have out is “Prayers on Fire” written with our dear friend, co- author, Gretchen Muir. It’s a lovely devotional praying through the Psalms. You’ll love it! And 1st & 2nd Thessalonians will be out in a month. At the moment Brian is working on Isaiah. Once we get it done I will start revising His commentary on Isaiah. And The New Testament is finished! Whoohoo! Now for the editing and theological review. The New Testament will come out leather bound in four colors; black, brown, lavender & pink (maybe teal). Please pray that it comes together quickly so that we can get it out by our proposed deadline.

It’s an exciting time for The Passion Translation! It looks like Bill Johnson will be doing his own version of the Bible using the TPT. It will contain his study notes and whatever else he wants to add to make it his flavor. Our publishers are also pursuing other Christian leaders to have them do the same. Please be praying for this project and those involved behind the scenes. They tell us that they’re facing some spiritual warfare and covet our prayers!

REFORMATION BIBLE:

This next year, October 31, 2017 leads us up to the celebration of the 500th year of Reformation of the church, the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. It was a day that changed the church and the world forever. I believe we are on the precipice of another reformation of sorts and without realizing it we have been planning all along to roll out the completed Passion Translation New Testament on that very day. We are nick-naming our translation, the reformation Bible. We believe that it will truly be a great tool in this next great moving of God’s Spirit in the earth which will affect many generations to come!

A Thank you to our Partners

A special thank you to all of our Passion Translation Partners for your monthly contribution! Your contributions are what keep this translation project going! And thank you all for your donations, your incredible prayers and for following us daily on our websites. You have no idea how much we appreciate each and every sacrifice of love that comes from you! If you’re a partner we’ll automatically send you each new book of the translation (This does not include the other books, only the translation.) as it comes out as our gift to you!

You can become one of our Partners by making a monthly donation of $30, $50, $100.

We’d love to come to Tulsa, if we had a church to invite us we would definitely consider coming. BTW, we live in Wichita and minister in our church from time to time. The next Sunday is July 23rd, and Candice will be doing a dream seminar on July 22nd. Wish you could drive us to be with us 😉